Jab We Met

Plot

Aditya Kashyap is the heir to a wealthy but troubled family. Depressed and reeling from his girlfriend marrying someone else, he drifts out of a company meeting, attends her wedding in a daze, then boards a random departing train from Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in Mumbai.

On the train, he meets Geet Dhillon, a lively and bubbly, albeit naive, young woman. Overwhelmed by her energy—and weighed down by his own despair—Aditya gets off the train late at night at a small wayside stop. Geet, trying to help him, tries to get him to board again before the train leaves. While they argue, the train departs, leaving them both stranded. Aditya helps her reach Ratlam Junction railway station to catch the train but in the chaos, Geet misses boarding again. Now stranded past midnight, Geet clings to Aditya for safety, stubbornly insisting he help her get all the way home to Bhatinda.

The two slowly become friends. Aditya reveals his mother left his father for another man, leaving both father and son embittered. Geet admits she plans to elope with her boyfriend Anshuman. Despite his initial irritation, Aditya begins to shake off his depression in Geet's cheerful company.

After traveling together for days, they arrive at Geet's family home in Batinda. Geet's family warmly takes Aditya in; to conceal his identity as a wealthy businessman, he introduces himself as a musician. Geet's family intends to arrange her marriage to a childhood friend, but she refuses. Determined to be with Anshuman, she runs away from home with Aditya and he drops her off at Manali, where Anshuman lives. There, he bids her farewell and returns to Mumbai.

The journey transforms Aditya's life: he reconciles with his estranged mother and finds new confidence in work, naming a new product line after Geet. He realizes she brought meaning and colour back into his world, and he has fallen in love with her.

Months later, Geet's family visits Aditya in Mumbai, distraught that she has been missing since she left home. Shocked, Aditya travels to Manali and confronts Anshuman, who admits he rejected Geet when she arrived unannounced, unwilling to marry her. Aditya eventually finds Geet in Shimla, working as a schoolteacher and living in seclusion.

Cast

Shahid Kapoor as Aditya Kashyap

Kareena Kapoor as Geet Dhillon

Tarun Arora as Anshuman

Saumya Tandon as Roop Kaur Dhillon, Geet's sister

Dara Singh as Suryendra Singh Dhillon, Geet's grandfather

Pavan Malhotra as Prem Singh Dhillon, Geet's uncle

Kamal Tiwari as Gurpreet Singh Dhillon, Geet's father

Kiran Juneja as Amrit Kaur Dhillon, Geet's mother

Pravin Purva as Sarabjit Kaur Dhillon, Geet's grandmother

Veer Pratap Singh as Manjeet Singh Maan, Geet's suitor

Divya Seth as Ayesha Khanna, Dharamraj's ex-wife and Aditya's mother

K.F. Jussawala as Advocate Shrikant Sharma, Ayesha's lawyer

Nihar Thakkar as Raghav Dutta, Aditya's subordinate

Manushka Khisty as Meher, Aditya's subordinate

Vishal Om Sharma as Advocate Rohit Bhosle, Aditya's lawyer

Wamiqa Gabbi as Geet and Roop's cousin

Kishore Pradhan as Station Master

Brijendra Kala as Taxi Driver

Production

Development

In early 2007, the Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision Limited announced that director Imtiaz Ali would be directing the then real-life couple Kareena Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor in their first "full-fledged romantic drama". Teddy Maurya, worked as an art director on the film and later acted in it too.

Casting

When Ali began casting for the film, Preity Zinta and Bobby Deol were his first choices to portray Dhillon and Kashyap respectively, but were eventually replaced by Kareena Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor respectively, the former when Zinta refused to do the film. While, Shahid Kapoor agreed to the film because he "loved the script", Kareena Kapoor revealed that Shahid "convinced" her to do the film. The film marked Shahid and Kareena's fourth project together after Fida (2004), 36 China Town (2006) and Chup Chup Ke (2006).

On the two lead actors, Ali commented, "I wanted a girl who could look natural in scenes where she misses the train. She had to be without make-up, someone who could be hyper, talkative and interesting but not irritating. I was never a fan of her [Kareena] and hadn't seen too many of her flicks, but I just knew Kareena was perfect as Geet [...] [On the other hand], When I met him [Shahid], I realised he wasn't the forgettable actor that he comes across in several of his movies. He has gone through a lot in life and that maturity had never been brought out. He was perfect for the role of a young, mature, quiet guy."

Tarun Arora was cast as Anshuman, opposite Kareena Kapoor. While, Saumya Tandon was cast as Geet's sister, Dara Singh as Geet's grandfather, Pavan Malhotra as Geet's uncle, Kamal Tiwari as Geet's father, Kiran Juneja as Geet's mother and Divya Seth as Aditya's mother.

Filming

The film was shot throughout the Punjab region, and filming started on 20 March 2007 in Chandigarh and later headed to Shimla and Manali, where the crew filmed a song on the Himalayas and the Rohtang Pass. Manish Malhotra served as the costume designer. The summer shots in Punjab of the haveli were filmed in Nabha near Patiala. While shooting the last schedule of the film in Mumbai, sources had indicated that the lead pair had broken up. Though the media projected it as a publicity stunt for the film, it was later confirmed that the couple had indeed parted ways.

Post-production

To promote the film, the actors appeared separately on different television shows. Kareena Kapoor appeared as guest judge on the singing talent contest Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2007 whilst Shahid Kapoor appeared on STAR Voice of India and Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa; they later appeared together on the television show Nach Baliye. Apart from this, the producers also painted two full local trains in Mumbai from the Western and Central lines with Jab We Met imagery, where Shahid Kapoor chatted up with fellow passengers and informed them about the film. The title of the film was decided by a popular vote; moviegoers had a choice between Punjab Mail, Ishq Via Bhatinda ('Love via Bhatinda') and Jab We Met (earlier titles of the film had included The Train, Geet and Geet Ready).

Soundtrack

Imtiaz Ali initially approached A. R. Rahman to compose the score and soundtrack for the film. However Rahman declined the offer assuring Imtiaz that he would do Rockstar. The score was composed and produced by Sanjoy Chowdhury. The film featured a soundtrack composed by Pritam with lyrics by Irshad Kamil. Sandesh Shandilya composed one song. The track "Mauja hi Mauja" is based on raag Sindhu Bhairavi. The film's soundtrack was released on 21 September 2007 by Kareena Kapoor on the musical show Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2007.

Critical reception

The soundtrack mostly received positive reviews. Joginder Tuteja from India FM gave the music 3.5 out of 5 stars and said, "In 2007, Pritam may have come up with good music in number of films [...] But if there is one album that impresses most after Life in a... Metro and turns out to be the most satisfying experience, it is Jab We Met. The album is a perfect example of how to get a quality soundtrack which mixes songs for different segments of audience." Movietalkies.com rated the album 4 out of 5 stars, describing the album as "certainly one of the better albums that have come out this year ... Pritam has shown a depth and width of imagination in the manner in which he has used so many different genres and mixed them together to create a fascinating journey of music."

Charts and sales

The film's soundtrack debuted at number 8 and later jumped up to number 5 during its second week. Over the next several weeks, the album steadily began climbing up the music charts and saw the album sales increase after the film's release. During the week of 19 November the album replaced the soundtrack of Om Shanti Om and moved up to number 1 but fell back to number 2 the following week. Despite competition from the release of newer soundtracks, the album stayed at the top for over nine weeks.

According to the Indian trade website Box Office India, with around 19,00,000 units sold, this film's soundtrack album was the year's second highest-selling. Jab We Met's album was featured on Rediff's and IndiaFM's year-end list of 2007's Top 10 Music Albums.

Release

Jab We Met was released on 25 October 2007. Moser Baer served as the DVD partner and regional distributor for Jab We Met. The film was officially released on DVD in the U.S., U.K., UAE and other international markets on 7 December 2007. A single disc collector's item in an enclosed box with the DVD containing English, Portuguese, Arabic, and Spanish subtitles was also released. The film was later made available on Amazon Prime Video. In 2024, the film was re-released in theatres as part of PVR-INOX's Valentine's Film Festival.

Reception

Box office

Jab We Met opened with an opening of 70% all over India on 26 October 2007 and later increased to 90% during the weekend. Making a total first week net business of 11.75 crores from 350 cinemas, the film went into the second week with strong collections and saw a increase with 40%-50% increment in shows worldwide.

Continuing its strong march in week two with collections of over ₹90 million (US$930,000) and a two-week total of ₹210 million (US$2.2 million), the film was declared a hit. During its third week, Jab We Met managed to add another ₹20 million (US$210,000) to its collections but suffered a setback due to release of Om Shanti Om and Saawariya, which resulted in the number of shows for the film being reduced. Due to demand and the poor performance of the latter, the following week saw an increase in the number of prints for the film across the country, and resulted in a 50% increase of the film's collections. Completing 50 successful days at the box office on 14 December 2007. the film received a hit status by BoxOffice India.

By February 2008, Jab We Met had made a net business of over ₹310 million (US$10.9million), and emerged as one of the biggest hits of the year. On 30 January 2008, it was announced that to celebrate the success of its 100 days run at the box office, PVR Cinemas in Delhi would have a special screening of the film on Valentine's Day.

Meanwhile, Jab We Met also opened well internationally, especially in the U.K., where it was released a day before its worldwide release of 26 October. Debuting at number 10 in the U.K., the film grossed £11,488 on its previews night and £144,525 on its opening weekend, collecting a total of £156,013 from 31 screens. The film continued to do strong business and garnered excellent collections during its second week, making a two-week total of £325,996. Over the next five weeks, Jab We Met collected a total of £43,529 from 54 screens and made a grand total of £424,681.

Critical response

Upon release, the film opened to widespread critical acclaim. Critics praised the film for its simplicity, its romance, saying that it was "one of the finest romantic films to come out of Bollywood in 2007". The film's direction and performances were particularly appreciated.

The Times of India gave the film 4 out of 5 stars concluding, "The film belongs to Kareena and Shahid who pitch in memorable performances and lend a whole new meaning to the boy-meets-girl story." Taran Adarsh from indiaFM gave the film a 3.5 out of 5 rating saying it is "as refreshing as an ice-cold watermelon juice in scorching heat." Subhash K. Jha wrote, "...Jab We Met is the kind of cinematic experience that is hard to come by in this day and age of smoky cynicism and borrowed rage."

Rajeev Masand from CNN-IBN, who gave the film 3 stars out of 5, described it as "a film bursting with the kind of lovely little moments that'll bring a smile to your face. Khaled Mohamed of Hindustan Times gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, saying the film, "is quite a delight, particularly for the chirpy-chirpy-cheep-cheep girl and the retentive, moan-groan boy. Directed with a flair for garnishing even the most abject of circumstances with humour and irony, here’s a feel-cool film. Wonderful.

Reviews towards the director, Imtiaz Ali, were favourable as well. Indiatimes wrote, "After his much-appreciated Socha Na Tha (2004), Imtiaz goes bigger and better and the result is nothing but flying colours".

Most critics agreed that the main highlight of the film was the leading pair and Kareena and Shahid's chemistry. Rajeev Masand further explained, "The real magic of this film lies in the performances of its two main leads who seize your attention from the moment they first appear on screen." Taran Adarsh commented, "Shahid delivers his career-best performance in Jab We Met... Kareena is in top form as well. Jab We Met is a turning point in her career. Fantabulous -- that's the right word to describe her work this time. The confidence with which she handles the contrasting characterization speaks volumes. This film should do for her what Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998) did for Kajol." Subhash K. Jha approved the chemistry as well, "...there are sparks...and the ones between Kareena and Shahid are so unselfconsciously genuine that you end up looking at the characters rather than the two actors going through a series of brilliantly conceived and energized incidents..."

Accolades

Jab We Met received several accolades including, two National Film Awards, two Filmfare Awards and two IIFA Awards. The film also earned three Producers Guild Film Awards, three Stardust Awards, three Zee Cine Awards and one Screen Award.

Remakes

Ashtavinayak announced that Jab We Met would be remade in four other languages: Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam. However, eventually it was only remade in Tamil as Kanden Kadhalai (2009) and subsequently dubbed in Telugu as Priya Priyathama. Starring Bharath and Tamannaah Bhatia, it was an average grosser. The film's plot later inspired the television show Love U Zindagi (2011), starring Sidharth Shukla and Pavitra Punia.

Legacy

Jab We Met remains one of the most popular romantic comedies in Hindi cinema. The film was named as one of the Bollywood's top 10 most romantic movies by Yahoo! Movies and Vogue. Time Out placed the film in its "The 100 best Bollywood movies" list. Ineye Komonibo of Marie Claire listed it as one of the 43 best Bollywood movies of all time. Jasmine Ting of Cosmopolitan cited it as one of the best Indian films. ZEE5 listed it as one of the thirty evergreen Bollywood films that one should watch before they die. Shubhra Gupta featured the film in her book, ‘‘50 Films That Changed Bollywood’’.

Sampada Sharma of The Indian Express noted, "Jab We Met has gained cult status in the world of Hindi romantic comedies and can easily be addressed as the most adored love story since Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995)." Jab We Met is cited as a milestone in Imtiaz Ali, Shahid and Kareena's career. The film brought recognition to Kareena Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor, both having enjoyed only limited success in their previous films. The couple was named in Bollywood Hungama's list of the top 10 best romantic couples of the decade. Shahid and Kareena's performance has been noted as one of their most notable works. It later consolidated their career.

Kareena Kapoor's character Geet Dhillon, became a popular and recognizable character. She later went on to say about her role, "To play a character like Geet doesn't happen all the time; it just happens. When you begin working on a film, you of course know about the story and your character. However, no one knows how audiences would eventually react to it. Geet did strike a chord with the audiences and became a household name." Rediff.com named Geet, as one of Bollywood's most beloved characters. For her performance in the film, she was placed 66th in Filmfare's "80 Iconic Bollywood Performances" list. Vogue, Rediff.com, Pinkvilla and Cosmopolitan have named Geet among the strongest and inspirational female characters of Bollywood.